The Eleusinian Mysterieswas a mystery cult to Demeter at Eleusis, just outside of Athens. Many of the details surrounding the ceremonyremain obscure to us, but we know that the ritual was for women, and involved atorch-lit procession, the drinking of a kind of beer-like drink, chanting,other forms of worship. The rites have a shadowy past, and its origins are difficult to pin down.
Mystery Cults
There are many examplesof mystery religions in the ancient world. The label makes them sound more exciting that they really were. The truth is that cultic practice that had a)selective membership, b) no written records of the rites, and c) refusedoutsiders from watching, have been dubbed “mystery cults.” Many of the rituals associated strictly withwomen were mystery cults, as men, who were the people most likely to be able towrite, were not permitted to attend the festivals.
Sources of Information
Because of the nature ofa mystery cult, we know little about the Eleusinian Mysteries—naturally, therites and ceremonial procedure was not written down, and membership wasselective. Indeed, men were not allowedto participate in the Mysteries, and this ritual represents one of few culticpractices that were set aside for women (vid. also the Thesmophoria).
The Homeric Hymn to Demeter
There is a great deal ofinformation available to us about the Eleusinian Mysteries in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter. This story tells of Demeter’s search for herdaughter, Persephone, following her abduction by Hades. After Hades, with Zeus’ approval, snatchesPersephone from a meadow and takes her down to the Underworld, Demeter sets offto find her. Along the way, she searchesthe world by night, always with a torch in hand and accompanied by Hekate. At one point in her journey, Demeter hires onas a nurse maid in the Greek city of Eleusis. While there, she refuses to drink any wine—a strange decision as far asmyths go—but she does drink a barley based beverage. This is significant andimportant, for Demeter is the goddess of grain, so to deny herself the fruit ofthe vine and to drink instead a barley beer is appropriate to her domain. This is also significant because we know thatsuch a drink was imbibed during the rites at Eleusis. This myth also providesus with the short episode between Demeter and Demophoon, whom she tries to annealin the fire at night. Once she is caughtholding the boy over the flames, she rises up in anger at the parents anddemands that they establish a cult to her at Eleusis. This provides the foundation myth for theEleusinian Mysteries, and the figure of the young boy seems to have featured inthe rites themselves as the figurative sacrificial victim. The boy in the rites was never himselfharmed; rather, this was a pageant or re-enactment. At the end of the story,when she finally gets her daughter back for part of the year (spring andsummer), we learn that during the fall and winter, when Persephone is sent backto the underworld to be with Hades, her husband now, Demeter continues to walkthe earth with a torch. These torch-litprocessions were major features of the Mysteries. We know that the festival began with aprocession of torches from Athens to Eleusis, and, at the end of the festival,the same procession back into Athens. The Homeric Hymn to Demeter is a difficult case, for while it helpsus understand some of the cultic practice surrounding the rites for Demeter atEleusis, we cannot be sure whether the myth was written to explain thepractice, or whether the practice was based on the myth. Regardless, this Homeric Hymn is a majorfoundation myth for these mysterious rites.
Art and Archeology
Some of our informationabout the Eleusinian Mysteries comes from art and things we have uncovered atthe archeological site at Eleusis. For example, we have a grave stele from Athens with part of the ritesrepresented. The stele shows the youngboy, who represented Demophoon, either being ritually annealed, or, possibly,blessed, by a priestess. We can identify this as part of the Eleusinian rites because of the basic Demeter iconography(the sheaves of wheat, in particular), and because we know that no other ritualexisted in which one boy and many women took part.
Eleusinian Mysteries
Table of Contents
Mystery Cults
There are many examplesof mystery religions in the ancient world. The label makes them sound more exciting that they really were. The truth is that cultic practice that had a)selective membership, b) no written records of the rites, and c) refusedoutsiders from watching, have been dubbed “mystery cults.” Many of the rituals associated strictly withwomen were mystery cults, as men, who were the people most likely to be able towrite, were not permitted to attend the festivals.Sources of Information
Because of the nature ofa mystery cult, we know little about the Eleusinian Mysteries—naturally, therites and ceremonial procedure was not written down, and membership wasselective. Indeed, men were not allowedto participate in the Mysteries, and this ritual represents one of few culticpractices that were set aside for women (vid. also the Thesmophoria).The Homeric Hymn to Demeter
There is a great deal ofinformation available to us about the Eleusinian Mysteries in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter. This story tells of Demeter’s search for herdaughter, Persephone, following her abduction by Hades. After Hades, with Zeus’ approval, snatchesPersephone from a meadow and takes her down to the Underworld, Demeter sets offto find her. Along the way, she searchesthe world by night, always with a torch in hand and accompanied by Hekate. At one point in her journey, Demeter hires onas a nurse maid in the Greek city of Eleusis. While there, she refuses to drink any wine—a strange decision as far asmyths go—but she does drink a barley based beverage. This is significant andimportant, for Demeter is the goddess of grain, so to deny herself the fruit ofthe vine and to drink instead a barley beer is appropriate to her domain. This is also significant because we know thatsuch a drink was imbibed during the rites at Eleusis.This myth also providesus with the short episode between Demeter and Demophoon, whom she tries to annealin the fire at night. Once she is caughtholding the boy over the flames, she rises up in anger at the parents anddemands that they establish a cult to her at Eleusis. This provides the foundation myth for theEleusinian Mysteries, and the figure of the young boy seems to have featured inthe rites themselves as the figurative sacrificial victim. The boy in the rites was never himselfharmed; rather, this was a pageant or re-enactment.
At the end of the story,when she finally gets her daughter back for part of the year (spring andsummer), we learn that during the fall and winter, when Persephone is sent backto the underworld to be with Hades, her husband now, Demeter continues to walkthe earth with a torch. These torch-litprocessions were major features of the Mysteries. We know that the festival began with aprocession of torches from Athens to Eleusis, and, at the end of the festival,the same procession back into Athens.
The Homeric Hymn to Demeter is a difficult case, for while it helpsus understand some of the cultic practice surrounding the rites for Demeter atEleusis, we cannot be sure whether the myth was written to explain thepractice, or whether the practice was based on the myth. Regardless, this Homeric Hymn is a majorfoundation myth for these mysterious rites.
Art and Archeology
Some of our informationabout the Eleusinian Mysteries comes from art and things we have uncovered atthe archeological site at Eleusis. For example, we have a grave stele from Athens with part of the ritesrepresented. The stele shows the youngboy, who represented Demophoon, either being ritually annealed, or, possibly,blessed, by a priestess. We can identify this as part of the Eleusinian rites because of the basic Demeter iconography(the sheaves of wheat, in particular), and because we know that no other ritualexisted in which one boy and many women took part.As for archeological evidence....